HANG TIME, Texas — There had already been plenty of unfathomable events in the Lakers’ season:

• Firing head coach Mike Brown after a 1-4 start.

• Collapsing down the stretch in a pair of horrible losses at home to Indiana and Orlando.

• Getting whipped in Cleveland.

• Any time that Dwight Howard steps to the free-throw line.

But then came Friday night and the height of absurdity when the announcement informed fans at Staples Center that they’d all get a free taco “if the Lakers win and hold their opponent under 100 points.”

At that moment, 2:05 left in the third quarter, the Lakers were trailing the Thunder 90-68.

So maybe it was just hunger pangs gnawing away inside Magic Johnson when he blurted out on ESPN:

“It’s over for my Lakers — no playoffs, no nothing.”

It seems the Earl Clark Era had a short shelf life and the news keeps going from bad to worse for the would-be challengers to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the real deal from OKC.

The Lakers announced that Jordan Hill will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury.

While Hill was averaging just 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, the bedraggled Lakers, who are also playing without Howard (shoulder) and Pau Gasol (concussion), can hardly afford to be without any of their parts as they continue their heavy lifting job — or fantasy quest — of trying to get back into the Western Conference playoff picture.

Hill told our man Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times that he took the news personally:

“I feel like I let down the team,” said Hill. “I let down the fans.”

According to the Lakers, Hill was examined by team doctor Steve Lombardo and hip specialist Dr. Jason Snibbe Friday and underwent an anthrogram test. The test revealed “loose fragments in addition to a possible labral tear” in the hip, which will require surgery, the team said.

Hill was hurt Sunday against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

“Andre Miller drove baseline and Kobe [Bryant], trying to go back and guard him, he accidentally stepped on my foot,” he said. “Like, I stayed in one spot but my hip kept going. It kind of pulled the joint out.”

Hill will get a second opinion before setting a date for the procedure but he noted it’s inevitable.

“I definitely need surgery. It’s definitely mandatory,” said the Lakers forward/center. “I have fragments floating around that need to be out.”

The recovery period should take all the way through to the summer.

The question is whether that’s enough time for the entire Lakers organization to recover from their troubles.

Of course, Lakers owner Jim Buss had a slightly different view, as expressed this week during a radio interview. “How can you not believe in this team?” he said.

Well, six losses in a row, seven in eight games and the No. 8 spot in the West standings fading quickly in the rearview mirror.

There wouldn’t seem to be much help coming from over the horizon, even with a team that has only 14 players — one under the maximum on its roster. The Lakers already have a payroll of roughly $100 million and a luxury tax bill of $30 million.

The Lakers have not been this bad (15-21) since the 1993-94 season when a 15-year-old Bryant was still playing at Lower Merion (Pa.) High.

Next up are home games with the Cavs, Bucks and then a Thursday night showdown against the Heat that was supposed to be a preview of the The Finals.

“I don’t have to look to know we’re in a heap of …” coach Mike D’Antoni said before Friday night’s game. “Not a good place. As long as mathematically it can be done and it’s in our hands, then I’m good.”

At least nobody will starve with all those tacos still on their hands.

116 Comments

Laker’s just cannot stay in good health!
Now the best games in the NBA playoff will be between the Spurs and OKC. It is a shame, that the NBA divides the NBA into the “WEST & EAST! Why not just the best two teams? West playoffs will be more exciting than the Championship games. East just does not have any Great Teams! Lot of Good Teams, but no GREAT TEAMS! Look to see the OKC (if they stay healthy) take on the Spurs! That will be the series to watch this coming season. Spurs vs OKC? Who can hang the longest? Well the Spurs just do not go away. OKC has 6 that can knock down Free Throws, and yes they almost always keep turnovers to a minimum. BUT never,ever count out the SPURS! They play just as hard in Qtr.1 all the way through the 4th. Most teams will have a good qtr. get a lead and slack off, not those fighting Spurs. POP never smiles, even if 20 pnts ahead! He corrects the very smallest error immediately. Ever see POP in a good mood??NOT! SPURS WILL GIVE OKC LOT OF BB THIS PLAYOFF SEASON! Each team has a deep Bench! These two teams, if they stay healthy???Will play off for the West Finals! Got to wonder IF Durant can overcome his, “this year” I am so GREAT attitude. That boy has really changed. He was a very nice and a GREAT player last year, now he is just a GREAT player, no longer the nice “young man’. Slings his arms, gets ejected, horrible body language.What has happen to this player???Has he caught “the Westbrook Fever?” That kind of attitude, does not sit well with Fans/Media and yes, it can effect his ability in the playoffs! Never would one see Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, sling their arms and yap!

the lakers need young talent lakers aint going nothing with grampa nash they need hustle and effort in la they should get rid of everyone without the number 24 or 12 on their jersey they should go after a keneth faried or george hill people with speed n gives effort and players that are being beat off the dribble 95percent of the time like a shumpert or avery bradly howard is gonna foul out every game with guards running at him full speed the need an og in the lockerroom too like how the knicks got j kidd i think the real problem in la is effort and chemisty who wants to hang out with gasol and nash all season noone they need players with swag and confidence like a westbrook or jr smith or a chalmers you could see it in their face after they score “yeah that was me that scored on you what you gonna do about it” kobe has it no one else on the lakers does sometimes its personalities that need to gel im not a heat fan but you can see in lebrons and wades face they have the “your not about to score on me” mentality

Lakers need to blow up and start over…just like so many great franchises have to do from time to time. Trade Kobe while you can get something for him. Good career Mocha Mamba….quit while you are ahead.

Okay, Lakerland fans, start throwing out trade scenarios again. Josh Smiths, Kevin Love, ANDREA BARGNANI. Javale Mcee! Pau for Mcee, I think the Nuggets would love that trade. Trade half the team even though the contracts/money dont add up, JUST DO IT. ENOUGH with this suffering. Our life is over. Fire Mike Dantoni and hire Michael Jordan…make it three Mikes as coaches for the season.

Lakers are done!!!sad to say this….MWP is forcing n shooting shots like Kobe no 2…gasol is too slow now…howard is injury prone…nash nothing is wrong except taking too less shots for my liking…kobe…what can i say???very sad to see him carry the team at his age…hope they can trade gasol n mwp for some younger players…they do need some speed now…

The best part about being a Lakers fan is that when you’re down, you’re never down long. They can stink up the court all they want this year, maybe even miss the playoffs, but we could still win a championship next year. The Lakers never rebuild, they reload. The whole team has been out of sorts since Phil left and then they lost what they thought was a done deal in the Chris Paul trade. Injuries, distractions, and a general lack of focus have plagued this team all season. I don’t think the Lakers are done this year. There’s still a good chance they can turn this season around and make the playoffs (what a scary 8th seed an engaged, healthy Lakers team would be!). I also don’t think the Lakers are done making roster moves this year. There are rumours of the team being interested in Tyreke Evans via trade (presumably with the Lakers using Pau Gasol as the main trading chip). That would add some youth to the Lakers lineup, and allow MWP to play the stretch four that D’Antoni desperately needs to make his offense work. This trade may not happen, but an equally beneficial trade very well could in it’s place. The Lakers aren’t down, never count a team out that has this much talent, no matter how bad they look at times.

announcement informed fans at Staples Center that they’d all get a free taco “if the Lakers win and hold their opponent under 100 points.”

Wow I guess they are joking over that TACO things… Next time they should come up better than a TACO… Hey How about, Staples Center will be giving away free FERRARI if the lakers win and hold their opponent under 110 points…….

When Mike D was hired, people were guessing who would be the d-coach for the lakers. They didn´t hire anyone. Look at them now. Offensive is working but d is not. Hire a proper defensive coach (Mcmillan?) and give him the power do whatever he wants at that end. Coach d´antonis teams have never been known for good defense.

Yeah, the problem with that is, that great bench players want money, too. Kobe, Metta, Gasol and Nash alone are in the books for 66.7 million USD next season. If they want to keep Howard they will have to pay him 15+ million a year, so there is no money left for a good bench.

Lakers totally deflect from teamship direction. Others got injured because of wrong tempo attributed by luck of team work on the floor. Selfishness ruins team work. It’s evident. When I watched Kings play yesterday aginst Dallas, I come to wonder why Lakers could not play that way? If someone out there still thinks he still could deliver, he must stop thinking and have to give other a chance to rise.

well… I enjoy every loss by the lakers, but dont put them on the same page with celtics.. yeah boston is not playing their best bball yet but they will be one of the contenders in playoffs, just like last year, as for the lakers… well.. stop talking about them, there r other teams in NBA like.. warriors, blazers, hawks etc.. sure not contenders but lakers r not even a playoff team now.. this is stupid..

This team just does not have the Firepower. I know, Kobe Bryant and Not enough Firepower should not be in the same sentence, but unfortunately he cannot do it alone… Maybe he can? He need to either start scoring 45 every single game for their team to even have a chance, or do a complete 360 and run the offense through dwight. The way I see it, is dwight needs to get at least 15 touches per game, for them to start winnning. Kobe can always score the ball, so for the first three quarters run the pick and roll with dwight, and then the fourth quarter limit his minutes towards then end of the game to prevent HackaHoward, and let Kobe take over in the fourth quarter. It is an injustice to see Howard not take advantage of his offensive gifts, and if this is to continue you can bet he will be on his way out after this season. Another option is to trade Gasol, for a few solid Bench players that can consistently contribute, to make it easier on the starters.
IDK…. Not looking to good in Lakerland.

dont worry about LAL guys Just pray to them to get some intellegence to play basketball and pray to them that they can join PLayoffs LAL have 40+ games it can be … guys just pray ! dont mormoring here ..

Love how the haters want to hide in their mom’s vag when they are winning but as soon as they start to go on a bad stretch they want to crawl out and be the first to hate. I guess that’s what it is when your the most successful and efficient franchise in the NBA.

The Boston Celtics won 17 out of 21 Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers won 11 out of 26 Finals. With another 5 banners from Minneapolis, the Lakers are still not the most successful nor the most efficient franchise in the NBA.

Lakers are pretty bad, no chemistry on the floor, no defense, soft players. They should make a trade, you either put the ball in Nash’ hands and let him run the show. Or trade him away and put the ball in big boss/ball hog Kobe hands. This half and half blend kobe/nash isnt working at all zero chemistry.

LET STEVE NASH CONTROL THE GAME IN LAKERS DANTONI IS USE TO THAT IN PHX WHY NOT IN LAKERS. YOU GET A GREAT PG LET HIM PLAY HIS GAME AS I SEE IT LAST NIGHT MOST OF THE TIME ITS JUST KOBE TAKNG THOSE FORCE SHOT. FOR ME, NASH IS THEIR OFFENSE LET HIM PLAY HIS TYPE OF GAME AS LIKE I SAW THE CONNECTION HE DID WITH A.JAMISON. BRYANT IS PAY TO SCORE BUT WHATS HAPPENING IN THEIR OFFENSE IS JUST PRETTY OBVIOUS GIVE THE BALL TO KOBE. ITS JUST WASTE OF TALENT OF NASH, HOWARD, JAMISON AND GASOL IF KOBE WILL TAKE 40-50 SHOT THEY WILL LOSE. KOBE IS NOT THE KOBE BEFORE HE NEEDS HELPS THAT WHY THEY ACQUIRE NASH, JAMISON & HOWARD ON THEIR ROSTERS TO HELP THEM DEFENSIVELY AND OFFENSIVELY. LAKERS HAVE A LOT OF OFFENSIVE WEAPON ON OFFENSE KOBE, NASH, JAMISON, GASOL & ARTEST THIS GUY CAN SCORE THEIR DEFENSE NEED TO HELP ONE ANOTHER YOU ALSO GOT GOOD DEFENSIVE INDIVIDUAL ON KOBE ARTEST AND HOWARD.

The whole ‘We need, Phil’ comments are getting tiresome and extremely repetitive its getting quite annoying now. Time to move on and get over it! D’Antoni inherited this mess, but of course it’s easier to point the finger of blame at the coach and not look at the greater picture. Mitch and his recruitment along with the owners certainly need to shoulder some of the blame. What concerns me is there seems no investment for the future but prefer to bring in overrated and over the hill players. As for the players, no team chemistry, no wins. We might have some ‘superstars’ but without chemistry we will never win anything. Very concerning times.

THE OWNER, THE COACHES, AND THE PLAYERS ARE ALL TO BLAME. FROM LAST NIGHT VS OKC, YOU COULD SEE THAT KOBE AND MWP WERE SHOOTING VERY BADLY. AND THEY LET THE THUG WESTBROOK AND DURANT TO SCORE SO EASILY. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCE IF HILL, HOWARD AND GASOL COULD PLAY OR NOT. DURANT TOOK SHOTS AS MANY AS KOBE, AND GUESS WHO SCORED MORE AND THEY WERE PLAYING L.A. BEING OLD IS NOT AN EXCUSE, THE SPURS IS AN OLD TEAM,BUT THEY WERE AT THE TOP. IT IS BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT, SPURS SIGNED PLAYERS WHO CAN PLAY AND LAKERS SIGNED PLAYERS WHO GET PLAYED. A BUNCH OF USELESS PLAYERS WHO COULD NOT PLAY CONSISTENTLY WITH A COACH WHO WON NOTHING IN THE PAST. LAZY COACHES AND LAZY PLAYERS, JUST CHANGE THE NAME OF THE TEAM TO L.A. LAZIERS.

hahaha! keep losing Lakers, this is so hilarious to me… apparently the Lakers’ “superstars” have about as much heart as their tanned, plastic fans…very little. I’m sure they will rush out this offseason and try to buy a new team … have fun paying $30M in luxury taxes and then missing the playoffs. …by the way, I will be dissapointed to see any of the Lakers on the all-star team, all stars on losing teams aren’t really all stars to me.

I BLAME JIM BUSS!!! He’s still a kid letting his emotions take over! NOT EXTENDING PHIL JACKSON’S CONTRACT IN 2010 WAS A MISTAKE ALREADY! 2012 he had the chance to hire him again and he said NO! Just because Coach Jackson wants more say in the organization, after everything Phil Jackson has done for the basketball game and the Lakers organization! Mike D’antoni was, is and will never be the right coach for the LAKERS!!!

These comments dissapoint me, most of them are from Heat or Bosten fans and last time i checked Ney York is considerably better then the heat and Bosten mide as well be in the same boat as L.A i do agree though that L.A has to do some deal to even smell a playoff birth #GetReal

The Knicks have the same number of wins as the Heat and two more losses. They lost 6 out of their last 10. How are they considerably better than the Heat?

Boston has a record of 19-17 and they are in no danger of missing the playoffs. How are they in the same boat as the Lakers? A team that currently misses all their big men due to injuries, that doesn’t play any defense and that is 6 games below .500, with only a slight theoretical shot at a playoff spot.

I tell you what, Lakers get humilated every time they play a good team like OKC, they are a bad team with starters or not same thing, they should TRADE now, trade Gasol,Jamison TRADE NASH NOW THAT HES VALUABLE and GET YOUNGER PLAYERS,hes turning 39 and ppl want the lakers to build on NASH?!?!?the lakers are so messed up right now and they should trade HARD, they could even trade Howard and get so much if they play it smart…

Well, Lakers should’ve kept Bynum, should’ve fired Mike Brown from the start, should’ve hired Phil Jackson, should’ve kept Andrew Goudelock and Chris Douglas Morris so their bench would’nt be so bad, should’nt have hired D’Antoni, should sign the guh who fcked Lebron’s Delonye West, and should’ve traded Blake a long time ago. All the blame points to one person. A person who single handedly ruined the Lakers in less than half a decade Jim Buss.

Still not going to help when all D’Antoni talks about is playing offense, if your coach doesn’t preach defense, the team isn’t going to have a full defensive effort, obviously MWP will play his usual good defense on players like KD, Lebron, etc, and Howard will block shots and get you rebounds, but that is as far as their defense will go.

Jim Buss is delirious, clearly does not understand the situattion at hand. When Lakers first hired DAntoni I tried to be optimistic by giving him the benefit of the doubt, but it is clear now that he is not the man for the job. If you want to play DAntoni style, keep Nash and get rid of everyone else, bring in a bunch young legs, which by the way wont get you anywhere because DAntoni does not know what defense is. My suggestion is, get rid of DAntoni, and use your all star roster to its maximum potential. Play from the inside out, that is where the advantage is. With two seven footers they should besteady pounding the ball in and running picknroll with Nash all game long. As long as DAntoni is the headcoach, Lakers have no hope this season.

The obvious choice would be to fire D’Antoni… At this point it might be easier said than done. As of right now the Lakers are currently paying two coaches a total of $15 Million as a result of several failed attempts in finding the best man for the job. Firing Mike D’Antoni could prove to be too expensive to consider for a team that has the highest payroll in the league. With the Lakers paying over $80 Million in luxury tax last season and toting the biggest player contract in the NBA (Kobe Bryant) not to mention the burdensome $19 Million that’s still owed to Gasol this much of a load creates a much bigger challenge. Lakers still hope to sign Dwight Howard next season and as a superstar he will be expecting a hefty payout. With several bad decisions, regretful deals, luxury tax and bloated contracts, firing Mike D’Antoni would simply prove to be too expensive. That would leave the Lakers paying three coaches instead of two, but in an ironic twist of fate, either way the chips fall, the Lakers will have to pay in the end no matter what. Whether it costs them they’re season, or more money, in any decision the Lakers will have to pay.

What an NBA season, 2 of the last 3 NBA Champions will miss the playoffs and they have no one to blame but themselves. And talk about perspective. When I see where the Mavericks and Lakers rank in the standings and when I see how poor they play, the first thing I think of is Jim Mora’s playoff speech:
“Playoffs? You kidding me? Don’t talk about playoffs, I just hope we can win another game.”
Yet here we have Jim Buss recently stating in an interview:
“How can you not believe in this team? This team is built to win.”
How delusional can you be as the man in charge of an NBA team?

It’s kind of ironic the first half of the season. The Lakers have a losing record while the Clippers the best record in the NBA. This just shows that just cause you spend like the lakers do all that money on “superstars” doesn’t guarantee you anything if there is no chemistry but especially no team defensive mentality. They are playing like my Dubs played the last couple of years, it’s a run n gun style offense with no emphasis on defense which is in part due to Dantoni’s coaching style. Now that’s fine if you can outscore your opponent enough quickly so as to cover your defensive woes like the Nash – Stoudemire Suns. The problem is that the lakers are too old to play at that kind of pace with other teams, just like at what OKC did to them yesterday. This season will be a disaster for the Lakers even when Pau and Dwight return.

Lakers have no defense mentality. It is like a bunch of grandmas are guarding the paint.

Lakers brought in the wrong coach.

Lakers have too many old players. Too many injuries among the roster. It is a dying team going downhill.

Lakers don’t invest in young talent from the drafts to bring fresh energy.

Lakers is faded to become what the clippers was in the past if they don’t wake up next season and star with a new team.

Lakers Bryant has to retire. Terrific player and did more than enough for the lakers. It is the end of the cycle.

Lakers Howard needs to grow as a man and stop smilling and laughing like a Hiena. Play your game, use your size, never shoot 3s.

Lakers Gasol is in the wrong role. Shooting jumpshots. Why? softer than ever…

Lakers coach has offensive mentality only. Lakers need to play defense 1st and go from there.

It is the end of a cycle and one of the best players in the history of the game wil retire. Fire everybody. Fire the entire hoster and invest in a new young and fresh roster with a few older players. That is the solution with a Defensive minded type of coach not that offensive clown.

Yes, foIks, it is messy with our Lakers, but it is salvageable. Here is what we do: I would like to fire that overrated Danantoni coach; however, due to salary considerations, we let him stay and micro-manage him, insisting that the team must play defense, not outscore other teams to win. I do not understand why some fans do not see that the coach’s job is to harness the talents of his players, handle their egos even though some of them make a lot more money then the coach does, and have them motivated for games. This is all in addition to having and executing an effective strategy against opponents on a nightly basis. On all these accounts, Mike Danantoni has failed, like he did in New York, and before that, in Phoenix. Just let him hold on to the helm until next season, then we bring in one of the finest coaches in the league who has a point to prove. That coach is Nate Mcmiillan. No more Phil. Phil is old and tired and has nothing to prove. Second, go to the transfer windiow and make some changes. Only three players are off limit: Kobe, Metta, and Dwight. The rest of them are expendable, including the aged Steve Nash. And this time Mitch Kupcek, please bring in players like Rudy Gaye, Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans. You will immediately inject youth and vitality in the team, and the 8th spot in the Western Conference, can be attained.

I love reading these comments: “Oh Lakers need Phil Jackson” or “Oh Lakers should have signed Phil Jackson as their head coach”. Understand this, Phil Jackson doesn’t need the Lakers. Sink in as it is time for you to sink for being the most greedy organization in the NBA. Say bye bye to the playoffs for the next seasons as we know you will not make it this year, Howard will not be a Laker next year, you have a 39 year old PG, a retiring Kobe Bryant in maximum 2 years, the worst bench in the West and on top of that you have players that bully other players and throw elbows night in and night out.

Mike D’antoni didn’t do anything. They shouldn’t have got a coach IN the season. It takes time for a coach to get used to players skills and weaknesses, Brooklyn had their interin be there so he knew the team. Plus it desn’t help when they are almost always injured.

Money don’t buy rings . 2 years ago all yáll Fakers fans was talking trash about every team. Arrogance kill you. Kobe will never be a team player nór a captain. Always pointing fingers right. Never again a ring. Just go for the all time scoring list, pathetic guy. Howard : Good lesson for you Coward. Artest : Join the chearleaders team. Cry fakers fan you over !!!!! CRYYYYY

Alibis, alibis…
btw that photo of Kobe, D’antoni and Dwight was just a pathetic PR attempt.
One thing I noticed, Dwight wasn’t wearing a shirt so we could all see his injured shoulder.
Alibis, alibis…
They were performing poorly before.
But enough about lottery teams that don’t have lottery picks.

I blame D’Antoni for this because of his bad coaching. And I blame Kupchek because he should have made a trade already. And I blame a lot of the players because besides Kobe, Nash, MWP, and Gasol nobody seems to care.

They need to hire me as the GM and let me make some changes. They have the pieces but not the management. With everyone out with injuries it’d be a tough job but I could do better than Buss. I’d start by bringing back Phil and letting him call all the shots!

They are terrible, Mike D’Antoni Hasn’t done anything. If they had chose Phil Jackson they’d be doing much better. No playoffs for them and Kobe will probably have this sad ending be the ending to his career. As in he’ll probably retire.

No, no. Kobe plays with a walker before he goes out like this. You and I both know it. Just pray he doesn’t suffer some sort of career threatening injury trying to make the best of this obviously bad situation.

D’Antoni starts to change his strategies by using the young players of Lakers last night against the Thunder. It works for a while to get even with the Thunder but when Kobe comes back and hog the ball too much 8 out of 23, Lakers falls behind again and can never catch up with the thunder any more. Remember D’Antoni was brave enough to use the then-rookie Jeremy Lin and won for Knicks. I hope that D’Antoni tries the new and young players of the Lakers again and ignore all those aging, tiring, and injuring superstars. D’Antoni is a coach is not afraid to change the traditional practice and try a new strategy because it was proven once with Jeremy Lin for being creative and anti-traditional. Lakers’ fans who like the old and aging Phil Jackson would probably like the old and aging players too ! Do not forget that Phil Jackson retired with shame and rejection from the same fans who are now yelling to get him back during the game. What a mocking situation for Phil Jackson !

SORRY FOR KOBE, WHATTTT?, HE HAS BEEN THE BENEFICIARY OF A GREAT FRANCHISE, HE IS SHOWING NOW HIS TRUE COLORS, HE IS PLAYING AS WELL AS IN HIS PRIME, BUT THAT DOES NOT TRANSLATE IN GOOD RESULTS FOR HIS TEAM , BECAUSE HE IS NOT A TEAM PLAYER, HE DOES NOT MAKE ANYBODY BETTER, HE IS A 45% VOLUME SHOOTER WITH SKILLS TO HANDLE THE BALL, WHO IS NOT SMART(he takes too many bad shots).WHO GOT THE FINALS MVP AFTER ONE OF THE POOREST PERFORMANCE OF A SUPERSTAR IN A FINALS GAME 7.

Think of the years that they won championship with Kobe playing in it. Without If it was Shaq and the Lakers minus Kobe, they wouldnt have won a title. If it was Gasol and the Lakers minus Kobe, they wouldnt have won the title. He’s a shooter, not a center. His job is to shoot a lot. When that’s ur job, u live or die with it. there are days that u make a lot, 81pts. there are days that u dont make anything. But overall he’s a great player. If you even play any basketball video game u would understand the game.

He’s a was a big threat too many players, coaches, and teams. He still is a threat. You can tell when a player is a joke. No one cares what he does and he is no threat to anybody. You dont become a threat if you’re a ball hogger

Howard could make a real difference to the Lakers right now by simply going to the GM and saying lets sign a long term deal. I want to stay and be a part of this. That would free the Lakers to move Gasol and a few pieces and build around the core group, Not sure if Howard has that kind of committment inside of him though.

When it rains it pours. I really feel for Kobe Bryant Steve Nash, and yes even Metta World Peace.. Its too bad the rest of the team has not got the drive and character of these guys. I used to be a Howard fan but I really question his commitment. Adversity reveals character. Gasol has got to learn and adapt, and Jamison has got to figure out he would play mre if he could play defence. It is so frustrating watching the Lakers play knowing they have the talent, but lack the committment, drive and effort throughout the team. And to make things worse Jerry Bust’s comments just make me shake my head. Its too bad his personal got in the way of bringing Jackson back but that’s history. If Dantoni is the man then blow it up and build around those 3 mentioned for next season.

HEY! the Clippers are not Fakers, they’re actually that good this season. R u too dumb to see or r u too dumb to realize LA could mean Clippers or Lakers? If Lakers are fakers then they faked out ballers like u and good enough to be the second best team in NBA history with titles to prove it. They’re so good that they even manage to avoid having dumb fan like u.

Strange how haters never seem to have a team of their own. Also haters never give a good reason for the hate. Great teams always have haters. I love haters. God bless haters. They help to validate my reasons for being a fan!

Firing Dantoni is not a option. They are still paying Mike Brown 11-12 million a year and presumably would have to pay Danotni around the same amount. Adding a new expensive coaching salary to a floundering team is pointless.

If they had a chance at Phil then they should have done it then, but now with everyone hurt and half the season gone, eh..

Yo, this is Jack Nick yo. loyal Lakers fan. No playoffs for Lakers this season. Y hired an offensive coach that never been proven to win a championship with his famous offensive style? Good point to Mitch Kup for putting togther the team, bad point to Mitch for allowing the owner to hired the wrong coach. Beg for Phil back please! Too much Ego, from players to owners. Even the coach realizes it bad and he doesnt know how to fix it besides saying his PG Nash will figure out how to fix it…

Get a life! Coach cannot force any “horse to drink”. Injured pron team, who put that debacle together?NOT the Coach! OWNER! No Coach in his “right mind” would take on the messed up Lakers. I feel for Kobe/Nash, they see they have very little experienced help. Clark is trying, but two former teams left him sitting,NO playing time, so he is producing, but only what he has been allowed to absord. Lakers need a new team,Period! NO GREAT PHIL could fix this mess, see why he just up and RETIRED last year? NOT DUMB?NOT OUTSTANDING GREAT AS A COACH! BUT a very SMART MAN, he only goes for a proven winner, see, I said he would NOT take on what Avery Johnson was forced to leave behind. NO Phil much too smart for that, now he has put on the ring and just may be offered a more lofty position in Laker Land, However, Brother may require a Wedding????Will Phil Buckle???Probably, If he wants more Kudos!!!Or he may just stay with the Buffalos, stay tuned on the ZEN!

Yo Yo you’re talking to Jack Nick Yo! If you said no coach in the right mind would take on the Lakers team then ur saying Mike D is not in the right mind. I agree with you on that. Hes not in the right mind to coach! The team is clearly needs to improve on defensive skill. What has he done? nothing. no improvement. Did offense improve? No. They were already that good before he came. Great coach like Phil would not directly force the “horses to drink” but he knows how to get into their minds and make them drink unforcefully. That’s what coaching is all about. U cant coach their talent. U just need to get into their minds and make them do what you want them to do. Thats what Phil is good at Yo!!

Mike D’ isn’t the problem. The coach is always the easy target. First, it was Mike Brown’s fault. Now, it’s Mike D’Antoni’s fault. When will it be the players’ faults? Defense is mainly about effort. The coach can’t make your legs move, so that’s on the players. Maybe you can blame D’Antoni for the lack of half-court production, but then again, it could be more of an execution issue (players’ faults) than a strategy issue (coach’s fault).

Blaming the coach is usually just an excuse, and the fact that Phil Jackson’s still available just gives people a reason to throw D’Antoni under the bus. Instead of taking a long, hard look at the players, people will just say “If Phil was the coach, this wouldn’t be happening.” If Phil was the coach and the guys played the way that they’re playing now, you can bet your @ss that it would happen. Let’s not forget about the broom that the Mav’s pulled out in Phil’s last playoff appearance. I’m pulling for the Lakers, but making excuses doesn’t help anyone.

Mike Brown was fine as coach, their only problem then was chemistry issue and Nash being injured, but the blame for this does go on D’Antoni, he doesn’t preach defense, which is why one of the better defensive teams in the last few years, just became one of the worst, which is surprising considering they have the best defensive C in the league, a 7’0 PF, Bryant who can play defense and MWP. I was watching OKC v. LA, during the 3rd quarter, I heard one of the reporters say D’Antoni was telling the reporter during halftime, all they need to do is hit a few more 3s and they are back in it. He mentioned nothing about stopping KD, who scored 25 points at the half or playing better defense. If your coach doesn’t preach defense, no way are the players going to play proper defense. Obviously Howard, Gasol being out plays a factor, and obviously chemistry issues, but its far beyond that now.

There is still hope in Laker Land, dont Hate because this is the first time you have seen the Lakers down. What ever comes up, always comes down no matter what team you are. But the Lakers, sorry all you Haterz , have always been & always will be top contenders even if they dont make it to the playoffs for one season oh well, Im still a Fan. Clippers can hold it down in LA until the Lakers presume!!!